Immigrants harassed in a small town in Sweden

In today’s news program Aktuellt at SVT2 they are talking about the Somalis in Sweden that live in a little town. The children are being harassed on their way to school. I do not know what lays behind these harassments, maybe people don’t like them?

In Expressen.se the politician say that they do not see an obvious racist motive behind these actions. It’s a gang of people with a history of doing these things. The politician in the Expressen Web-TV says that the children needs to go to school (there is no option to not go to school it’s legislated you MUST go to school) and that they will get escort to school.

I happen to see many Somalis in Rinkeby too. The men are hanging around the square and many are dressed in traditional clothes, similar to Indian mens traditional dresses.

I happen to know, from experience of talking to people, that many seem to have something against the Somalis in special. I have also heard some stories that might give, and maybe might contribute to a certain view of the Somali, who knows? One of these stories was:

I have heard people telling me that the women are pretty young when they marry and they also have a lot of children. One man told me that there was a bus driver that had about 20 children and that the man (the father of the children) didn’t even know the names of his all children.

If that is a true story then it’s pretty bad. But it might not be, it could be false. If you have too many children, you shouldn’t really get anymore. All children need parents that see them, otherwise they can do what ever they want and that can be doing bad stuff. If the parents are not involved in the children’s upbringing they are more likely to get bad when they grow up.

I am wondering if there are similar opinions and stories going on about the Somali in the small town? Maybe there is a misunderstanding or a factor x that we do not know of that is underneath these strange harassments? Maybe it’s like the politician in Expressen said, that the youth doing the harassment have a history of misbehavior. Maybe there is no reason for it, maybe the Somali just where an easy target?

I can however sense that there is some anger even amongst other muslims against the Somali in Rinkeby. I have also heard Swedes talking negative about Somalis. I must be the only one that hasn’t understood why. I know that the ones I see have traditional clothing and so, but many other cultures also have that and they don’t bother others that I know of?

The other day a women was walking down the electric stairs and she almost got caught with her clothing in the stairs without her really knowing. I told her that her dress was about to be caught in the stairs. She listened and lifted it up whilst walking down. A foreigner came up behind me and said: “She doesn’t care, it’s more important for her to cover her hair. That’s more important for them.” I replayed to the man: “Well, I didn’t want her to kill herself and she did listen.” The women thanked me and gave me a friendly smile. What country she came from is totally unknown to me. But she was wearing similar clothing as the Somali women have, but she could as well have been from another country.

The man who said the comments seemed like he was tired of all covered muslims somehow. I don’t know, since I didn’t ask. But there was some kind of negative feelings showing.

There seems to be hate, or misunderstandings or something going on underneath. I am wondering what it is? I have heard about men at the square bothering women that do not use traditional clothing, I think I read it in a paper actually. Which nationality or culture that was I do not know. Which women I do not know. This event was maybe 1-2 years ago. Maybe this has been left to grow? Maybe there is some kind of conflict. In Sweden everyone is allowed to dress as they like (not naked though, or too naked (but sometimes I wonder…)) according to the law, within some limits like to much nudeness. Needless to say, then you must be pretty nude.

I think its important to talk about problems, sometimes they all grow from misunderstandings and not talking about them can give a twisted view and make it just worse. Is that what is going on?

Well if some wear too much clothes, then some others wear to little… I was on the subway one day. A women sat down in front of me. I noticed her jeans. They where pretty much holding on to threads… But the real thing I then noticed was that she wasn’t just showing off her legs, she could as well have been wearing shorts, her jeans where that broken. On top of this the women has a see-through knitted sweater. The wholes where about 1cm each. Underneath that orange sweater the women was wearing a beige t-shirt-bra. It was as she was sitting in a bikini in front of me. I tried not to stare… but my head was pretty much occupied with me thinking about having a naked women in underwear in front of me. I was thinking, what was she thinking? I wonder what type of job she has? A hooker? I couldn’t seem to think of other things but her dressing a little to naked on the subway for my taste. I was also thinking what others where thinking. Had they noticed? She was from Russia or some other country in the eastern Europe.

Well, I do not know why the people are harassing the Somali kids, no kids should be harassed. Nobody should be harassed.

And I believe in talking to people. I try to treat everyone as I would like to be treated (not always so but at least one can try). Should I have kept quite when the women’s dress almost was caught in the electric stairs? What if she would have got caught and what if she would have fallen… then I wouldn’t have liked myself for not saying anything. It’s because of those things I try to say something, I feel better. It’s purley egoistic. I hope to show what type of behavior I like and then I am hoping that others follow. Some might and then I have won at least one person over to my side. Not that it is a competition…

But I hope that when people see the Somali kids being harassed in the small town – that someone who sees says something. Not saying is not making the harasses understand that others do not think the same. By saying something you make them think a little more. Hopefully they understand your point of view. If not at first — then maybe later?

Well, I am hoping no racist try to use my hear say and witnessed events are proof of not having immigrants, because that is not my saying. I am saying that a lot of things, usually the unknown, lays behind things like this. Making people talk and mediate hopefully can make people less scared.

Related

Published by humane living

This is Living Forum on Internet. The Living Forum blog.
I am a driver,
not just a bystander.
I don't want and I don't take passangers. You may read as a reader and let your role be as a reader and commenter. No more than that.
My art stays here, with me, don't copy, don't quote, don't reblog, I claim all my copyright rights according to Swedish law according to Upphovsrättslagen, so look and listen for free here on my property only, thanks. You accept the terms if you visit this site. This is my cyberspace and you are the visitor. Have a nice experience.
I react, when seeing, through the democratic power of the word.
Use none violent actions to change the world.
View all posts by humane living